Kazakhstan expands presence in UNESCO registries

At a meeting of the National Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan for UNESCO and ICESCO held in Almaty, State Counselor Yerlan Karin outlined key areas of work for promoting Kazakhstan's heritage on international platforms.

Previously, over 30 years, only two sites were included in the UNESCO lists: the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi and the Petroglyphs of Tamgaly Tas. Now, in just a few years, Kazakhstan is nominating a whole series of its cultural and historical treasures at once.

Kazakhstan is preparing applications for the World Heritage List in cooperation with neighboring states. Among the transnational nominations already submitted are the "Underground Mosques of Mangystau," "Ustyurt," and the “Fergana-Syrdarya Corridor of the Silk Roads," prepared jointly with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. This work has been carried out under the direct attention of the Head of State, who has regularly emphasized the importance of this direction during meetings of the National Kurultai.

Six new Kazakhstani sites have been added to the World Heritage Tentative List. These include the Petroglyphs of the Karatau Range (Arpaozen and Sauyskandyk) as well as outstanding examples of sacred wooden architecture: the Ascension Cathedral also known as Zenkov Cathedral.

Applications have been submitted to the "Memory of the World" register for the manuscripts of Abai’s works, the musical score of the first Kazakh opera "Kyz-Zhibek" by Yevgeny Brusilovsky, a collection of printed publications by Mashkhur-Zhusup Kopeev and the Issyk inscription.

In the field of intangible heritage, the national application "Salburun" (traditional hunting) is awaiting a UNESCO decision. A queue of multinational nominations includes the epic "Alpamys Batyr," and the traditions of "Kiiz Basu" (felt making), "Keste" (embroidery), "Taqiya" (skullcap making), and the "Zhyrau" art of storytelling.

A decision has also been made to prepare "Oyu-Ornek" for inclusion in UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage lists; meanwhile, the ornament has already been added to the ICESCO Islamic World Heritage List along with the "Karmakshy Zhyrau."

Experts note that the intensification of this work was fostered, among other things, by the personal interest of former UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay in Kazakhstan, which developed during her visit to the country, as well as the established working relationship between her and State Counselor Karin.

Next year, Turkistan is planned to be declared the ICESCO Capital of Islamic Culture, and the city will host a meeting of the Islamic Heritage Committee.